


body and blade

by bokutoma



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, It's Soft, Light Angst, Pining, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 20:09:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20512781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bokutoma/pseuds/bokutoma
Summary: for all of robin's tactical prowess, lon'qu had never expected her to be so...scatterbrained.





	body and blade

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pocketcucco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocketcucco/gifts).

For all of Robin's tactical prowess, Lon'qu had never expected her to be so...scatterbrained.

A strike team made of just the two of them was a bad enough idea, even if he could see they had little choice - with all of those closest to the Exalt and his tactician either away on other deities or recovering from their last skirmish, she had had little choice but to pair him with the one person he feared above all else.

Somewhere along the way, Robin had managed to be the sole woman to shift his phobia. That was unsurprising, considering the person she was and the miracles she had wrought, but still, Lon'qu continued to be surprised.

Now, there was a lethal combination of trust (This was _Robin. _They fought side by side nearly everyday. The heat of her body as they closed ranks had grown nearly as familiar as the cool steel of his sword.) and total, unadulterated panic. (This was _Robin. _They fought side by side nearly every day, but by might, he could not forget the heat of her body even in his dreams, familiar as the cool steel of his sword.)

It burned him like nothing else, so when Robin sheepishly revealed the nature of her forgetfulness, his temper flared.

"What do you mean, you forget another tent?" he hissed, knuckles whitening as his hands tightened into fists.

Her brows knitted together in concern, and though he imagined he looked a fright, there was no way for him to calm the frantic galloping in his chest.

"Exactly that, Lon'qu. There were a million things to check on before I left, and Chrom had a question as to the logical movements of the enemy. After that, Lissa needed help with caring for the injured, Sully needed to spar to stay in shape while recovering, and Frederick required me for a personal problem. It simply slipped my mind."

The worst part was that he knew how busy she was, knew he should have taken the time to recount and review their things, but he had been too busy lamenting his fate and beating the stuffing from a training dummy to do so. Besides, he had seen how irritable she got when her work was questioned, and though it was odd, it stirred...strange feelings in him.

It shouldn't have been a problem. Robin didn't skirt around the edges of discomfort due to _propriety, _whatever that meant. If Chrom, Frederick, or even Vaike had been here in his stead, she would have had no issue sharing the tent. Practicality was a trait they shared, yet Lon'qu could not forget that she was a woman; if he was honest, he would confess that he felt her femininity more strongly than any other. Because it was him, they were at an impasse.

Naturally, Robin thought of a solution first.

"I can always sleep outside," she said. "I did it when we first discovered the Risen up until we made it to Ylisstol. I don't mind as much as as I thought I might."

"Don't be silly. I am used to poor conditions in Regna Ferox. Compared to here, it would be nothing."

He wasn't certain why he argued, except that she was smaller than him, and though he knew well that she might outstrip even him in strength, she seemed so frightfully delicate. Besides, she was vital in a way that he could never be, a way he didn't envy, both to the leadership of their army and to morale. If she fell ill, Chrom would panic.

"Lon'qu, we're going to go in circles," she sighed. "I doubt we can solve the problem of your reluctance in one night, so I'm not seeing another solution. Technically, Chrom has entrusted me with command, and therefore it's my responsibility to shoulder the burden in situations like these."

He wanted to argue, to prove that there was another way, but there was nothing; if there had been, Robin would have discovered it.

"So then we share," he said, and if she looked pleased through all of her surprise, then he would deign to acknowledge the mirrored feelings in himself.

"I can't say my back doesn't thank you." She didn't push for my exploration, though, and for that, he was grateful.

If she had, he wasn't sure what he would have said.

* * *

The mission had gone more smoothly than any low level mercenary job back home, despite their enemy's advantage in everything from numbers to weaponry. Just a short time ago, Lon'qu would have deemed a feat such as this impossible; even alone, he wouldn't have risked it, not with confidence born of skill rather than cockiness. Robin was nothing if not a master of what she did, but now that the dust had settled and they had set up camp, there was only one thing left to think about.

Sleeping beside her.

They'd been through thick and thin together, beat impossible odds with swords moving in tandem, and it was knowing this that made him confront the truth. He was still afraid of women, but Robin had long overcome that hurdle, her persistence more than a match for him.

Really, there was only one reason to feel so much unease. Attraction wasn't a thing that was by any means foreign to him, but it had always been fleeting, the stir of blood and lust so deeply intertwined, his own mind caught up in skill rather than sex. Lon'qu wanted to kiss Robin with a fervor that bordered on desperation, and try as he might, he couldn't figure out what to do with information.

Still, he took some comfort from the maintenance of their weaponry. The tactician didn't part from her sword easily, but when he had offered to help, she had relinquished it with a smile.

He desperately tried not to read too much into that.

Honing the edges of their blades kept him from staring at her as she set up their camp, though, so this was probably the best he could hope for. The sun dimmed, but when she lit their fire with her magic, the angles of her face thrown into sharp relief, he kept working, pressing the pad of one finger against the edge, just enough to sting, relishing the pressure just before the bite.

Robin, with her confusing mix of vitriol, wit, and compassion, felt almost the same.

They ate in near silence, though she always liked to push limits where she could, he knew she would never test him when he was already vulnerable. _Vulnerable _was not a place he often found himself, especially when it came to a woman, but with her, it felt natural. For a moment, jealousy struck him deeper than a blade, considering that it was no secret how close Chrom and his tactician were. Still, if this was all he could have, these quiet moments that felt charged with possibility, he could be satisfied.

They went to bed with quiet as their bedmate, and Lon'qu thanked every lucky star and deity he could remember that she had packed such a large blanket. His heart beat fast enough as it was, the heat of her body still clear and present as though she was pressed against him, and he wished her breathing would even, that she would fall asleep, because having her awake, a finger's breadth away, made this utterly unbearable.

"Lon'qu," she said, the rough edges of her voice severing the threads that tethered his self-control.

He was pulling her toward him, reeling her in like it was second nature. When he had reached out, he wasn't certain, but suddenly they were tangled together, and panic flooded his every sense. Robin's lips were parted in a perfect circle of surprise, and something unfamiliar ached sweetly inside him.

Because she was Robin, she recovered first, but she didn't move, entangled with him though she was, and waited for him to decide what to do.

"Robin," he breathed, every ounce of tense emotion welling inside him until he thought he would burst with the force of it. "Please."

If he thought she would have mercy, he should have known her better, but the pull of her mouth, so close to his own as it stretched into a soft smile, felt a little like redemption. Her eyes traced paths of fire across him, and when they lingered on his own, he thought he might be branded.

He thought that perhaps he wouldn't mind.

"Whatever it is," she whispered, warm breath fanning across his face, something he never thought he'd want. "You have only to ask."

His lungs stopped functioning for a moment, air hitching in his throat and rendering him speechless.

"Please," he said, voice shaking.

"Lon'qu, I need to hear you say it."

"Robin, can I kiss you?"

He nodded, she did, and the world sang, sharper than any blade.

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday, sarah <3


End file.
